Ibanez AF-155 vs. Eastman AR-371

[rsclosson]

Actually,this is not a question. It’s more of an answer. I was given the opportunity to buy my AR-371 back. I had experienced some seller’s remorse when I parted with it. I got the opportunity to play it side by side with my Ibanez.

While I prefer the nitro sunburst on the Eastman over the thicker poly finish on the AF-155, the Ibanez wins out in every other way. The action and playability is better and the tone is more articulated with better note separation.

I could probably get a better tone from the Eastman with a pickup and electronics upgrade, but why bother? Maybe I can finally settle down with my choice of hollow body guitar and just concentrate on practicing.

[Gabor]

Action and action related playability is a *setup* related thing and not an attribute of 155 vs 371.

[Little Jay]

Action and action related playability is a *setup* related thing and not an attribute of 155 vs 371.

True, although where action/startup ends and ‘feel’ begins can be unclear. Sometimes with a good setup a guitar still doesn’t ‘feel’ as good as another…. Has to do with shape and height of frets, fretboard radius, string angles, neck shape and thickness….. well, you get where I’m going.

To OP: if you like the Ibanez better then it seems a no-brainer to me. The satin poly finish can be buffed to a shine, feels and looks much better imho.

*edit: oh wait I’m confusing the AF155 with the AF55, the latter has a satin finish, the AF155’s finish is gloss already

[rsclosson]

Despite my unfortunate choice of words, the Ibanez just feels better and, believe it or not, it makes me play better.

[jazzkritter]

Totally my personal experience with Ibanez. Theres a sense of the guitar just being there, youre not adjusting yourself to it. (Im very pro Ibanez and have yet to play an Eastman that impressed me.)
As to set up you can setup the heck out of a Gibson with a baseball bat neck but its not going to feel anything like an Ibanez George Benson.
Keep that 155 and if it makes you want to play than dont look back!
My only thought is you may wish to try a higher end neck pickup. I have a couple Fralin Modern PAFs replacing Super 58s. In some cases great change, others no.
Heres my Ibanez line up:
AG95, AF155(!), AF151, AF95FM, AF200, PM200, LGB300.
Above all enjoy your favorite)))
jk

[Gabor]

True, although where action/startup ends and ‘feel’ begins can be unclear. Sometimes with a good setup a guitar still doesn’t ‘feel’ as good as another…. Has to do with shape and height of frets, fretboard radius, string angles, neck shape and thickness….. well, you get where I’m going.

To OP: if you like the Ibanez better then it seems a no-brainer to me. The satin poly finish can be buffed to a shine, feels and looks much better imho.

*edit: oh wait I’m confusing the AF155 with the AF55, the latter has a satin finish, the AF155’s finish is gloss already

Agree the feel matters, which is dependent on many other factors.
I do not know you confused just the finish or the whole instrument, but if you really thougth the 55 the I have to say, it is the worst piece even in its $350-$450 category I've even seen, the 371 is the best I've seen in $1500-ish category,..

I never seen and played the 155 though. My idea about the 371, it is way closer to a real Gibson than Ibanez ever could be except its premium models what are way pricier

[Gabor]

Despite my unfortunate choice of words, the Ibanez just feels better and, believe it or not, it makes me play better.

Completely understand. Loving and connecting to an instrument, and enjoying both the feel and sound, gives inspiration which results better play, better impros, more musicality

[Little Jay]

Agree the feel matters, which is dependent on many other factors.
I do not know you confused just the finish or the whole instrument, but if you really thougth the 55 the I have to say, it is the worst piece even in its $350-$450 category I've even seen, the 371 is the best I've seen in $1500-ish category,..

I never seen and played the 155 though. My idea about the 371, it is way closer to a real Gibson than Ibanez ever could be except its premium models what are way pricier

I do not agree ;-)
The AF55 has great potential

[Little Jay]

And also this:



*edit: hmm, I tried to insert to link to the very long thread about the AF55 in this forum but the forum or the tapatalk app changes it to a general link…..

[teeps]

Here the transformation starts Ibanez AF55

[thelostboss]

I am in a similar position. At present I have an Ibanez SJ-300 which gets most playing time along with an Eastman AR-371 and an Eastman AR-503. I also had an Ibanez AF-155 which was my "starter archtop" to some extent. Both of the Eastman guitars are "harder" to play than either of the Ibanez, with the SJ-300 being most comfortable - although also the heaviest. When I was culling [for financial reasons] I went through various thoughts about the guitars.

Two were dual pickup guitars, the Ibanez pair; two were all laminate, the AR-371 and the AF-155; the SJ-300 has a fairly heavy pressed solid spruce top, while the AR-503 is a relatively light carved solid-spruce top. So there was a lot of variety in there that I wanted to try to preserve and I also wanted to like the Eastmans if I could find the source of their playing difficulties.

The end result was that I moved the AF-155 on without taking any financial hit. It had developed a strange sympathetic resonance that was present plugged or unplugged and I had grown tired of "curing" it at one frequency only to have it return somewhere else shortly thereafter. I also figured that of the four guitars it would be the easiest and cheapest to replace down the track, maybe not the exact model but possibly something very similar. The other three are just not that easy to obtain.

I still need to work out whether or not to persevere with the two Eastman guitars; it really bugs me that I cannot identify what it is about them that causes the problem.

[jazzkritter]

Hi Lost Boss
Are you in theStates? The SJ300 is a rare bird I’ve never seen one but understand its great box.
jk

[John A.]

I am in a similar position. At present I have an Ibanez SJ-300 which gets most playing time along with an Eastman AR-371 and an Eastman AR-503. I also had an Ibanez AF-155 which was my "starter archtop" to some extent. Both of the Eastman guitars are "harder" to play than either of the Ibanez, with the SJ-300 being most comfortable - although also the heaviest. When I was culling [for financial reasons] I went through various thoughts about the guitars.

Two were dual pickup guitars, the Ibanez pair; two were all laminate, the AR-371 and the AF-155; the SJ-300 has a fairly heavy pressed solid spruce top, while the AR-503 is a relatively light carved solid-spruce top. So there was a lot of variety in there that I wanted to try to preserve and I also wanted to like the Eastmans if I could find the source of their playing difficulties.

The end result was that I moved the AF-155 on without taking any financial hit. It had developed a strange sympathetic resonance that was present plugged or unplugged and I had grown tired of "curing" it at one frequency only to have it return somewhere else shortly thereafter. I also figured that of the four guitars it would be the easiest and cheapest to replace down the track, maybe not the exact model but possibly something very similar. The other three are just not that easy to obtain.

I still need to work out whether or not to persevere with the two Eastman guitars; it really bugs me that I cannot identify what it is about them that causes the problem.

Did you consider neck dimensions as the source of the difference in playability? Those Eastmans have wider nuts/fingerboards than those Ibanezes, and Eastmans in general have chunkier necks overall than Ibanezes. The ar 503 also has a longer scale length. The Ibanezes may just work better for your hands.

[Little Jay]

The problem I have is not general hand pain or fatigue but strong finger tip pain, as if I had never fretted an instrument before! I would love to find a competent local jazz guitarist and get them to play them all for an outside, second-opinion but this not easy where I am, as it is I am fairly much constrained to single note lines and barre chords. I still persist though.

Hmm, that sounds as if the slots in the top nut could be cut a little deeper….. A bit tricky to do it yourself for the first time as you can easily go too deep (I ended up shimming the first nut I cut, which worked perfectly btw ) but I did this for a couple of my guitars and playability improved dramatically. I especially experienced the finger tip pain you describe with my Crafter acoustic dreadnaught and after deepening the top nut slots that went away completely!

It proved worth it for me to invest in some nut slot files for this.

[John A.]

Hmm, that sounds as if the slots in the top nut could be cut a little deeper….. A bit tricky to do it yourself for the first time as you can easily go too deep (I ended up shimming the first nut I cut, which worked perfectly btw ) but I did this for a couple of my guitars and playability improved dramatically. I especially experienced the finger tip pain you describe with my Crafter acoustic dreadnaught and after deepening the top nut slots that went away completely!

It proved worth it for me to invest in some nut slot files for this.

OP's problem could be cause by that. The best way to diagnose it would be to measure and compare action heights on the two guitars at the first fret. If the ar371 higher, file nut slot s little. If not, there's something else going on.